Tag: Popular

In this Interview with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Stewart McGlynn, who leads the Regulators Anti Money Laundering Team, Financial Crime News wanted to know more about HK, the risks and threats, de risking, the recent FATF Report, follow up actions, Regtech, PPP and much more besides. The interview reveals that HK has achieved a lot but also has plans to do more, much of which is exciting and offers the prospects for increased efficiency and effectiveness in fighting financial crime.

FCN: HK is one of the largest and most respected international financial and trading centres, but what attributes do you think are necessary to build and maintain this reputation?

SM: There are several key attributes which overlap to some degree and which can be related directly to anti-money laundering work.

The following is a summary of the rise and fall of the Islamic State (IS), focussing on their finances, including the substantial reserves they still hold which makes them the richest terrorist group in the world. This is taken from a detailed Intelligence Briefing available for FCN Premium Professi...

How did Jacob Zuma, a hero of the Apartheid struggle, a prison mate of Nelson Mandela, and the 4th President of post apartheid South Africa come to be described in this book as the “Enemy of the People.” Chapter by chapter,

Zuma is revealed, by authors; Adriaan Besson and Pieter du Tot, first when his financial adviser was convicted of soliciting bribes for his boss, to how he renovated his personal homestead from extensive state-funds that he has still not repaid, despite an order by South Africa’s highest court that he must do so, to how his friendships, particularly with the controversial Gupta family, finally brought him down.

In 2018, after 9 years as President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma was removed from office by his own party, the ANC, for supporting a form of state capture which enabled so called friends to influence government appointments and contracts, costing billions of Rand.

In “Poached” the award winner Science journalist, Rachel Love Nuwer, investigates the international trade in illegal wildlife, detailing how demand for exotic goods such as elephant ivory, rhino horn and pangolin scales is being met through the human stories that are endangering the survival of iconic wildlife and of those trying to fight back.

The risk to our wildlife comes from human demand for exotic pets, jewellery, medicine, meat and trophies, which is driving a worldwide poaching epidemic. It also comes from growing human populations that put even greater pressure on land required to sustain many species.

The author travels to the front line in this struggle to hotspots in Africa, including Tanzania and South Africa, to China, Laos and Vietnam where supply and demand economics drive this trade to investigate and provide insights to better understand the dynamics involved.

The Wolfsberg Group has now published materials supporting the implementation of the Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire (CBDDQ) – Watch the video overview about the CBDDQ, its development and purpose and use the 12 videos covering each section of the CBDDQ. These new tools should be used in combination with the CBDDQ itself as well as previously published Completion Guidance and FAQs document. These materials have been designed to aid ‘capacity building’ in the industry, as well as support the objectives of the G20 and other supranational organisations towards a well supervised and more harmonised regulatory standard in correspondent banking.

The Wolfsberg Group expects that these materials will be very useful to public sector entities as they work with banks and countries looking to enhance their own financial crime compliance programs, as well as to banks and other financial institutions for their own training needs.

FCN: What is the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing (FFIS) research programme? And when and why did you get involved?

NM: FFIS is a research and international knowledge exchange programme specifically focused on the role of public–private information-sharing to improve AML/CTF outcomes. We’ve published independent comparative research and hosted scores of workshops around the world to better understand the opportunities and challenges related to the rise of public–private financial information-sharing partnerships (FISPs) in tackling financial crime.

Financial Crime News sat down with Natalie Merrylees to discuss her thoughts on the purpose, challenges, opportunities and the future of Assurance, as well as the importance of trying to identify “hotspots. weak spots and blindspots,” the use of technology, regulatory expectations and much more besides.

FCN: What is the purpose of Assurance?

NM: Assurance provides a semi independent spotlight to reconfirm whatever needs to stay working, is working, or alternatively, is a whistle to gain attention when problems are Identified or aren’t being fixed. In many organisations right now, this role is one of oversight of the firm’s policies and procedures, working to a defined framework and method, and taking its baseline data from the Firms own risk assessment activity

FCN: What do you mean by Semi-Independent

NM: By Semi Independent I mean, we are part of the second line of defence that provides a programme of ongoing monitoring and testing of both the business’s financial crime controls, some of which are carried out of course in the second line.

From the Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking / the Liechtenstein Initiative by Barry Koch

The staggering estimates that 40 million people are trapped in modern slavery and that forced labor generates $150 billion dollars a year in illicit funds have raised global alarm. It comes as no surprise to those combatting financial crime that thefinancial community intersects with these forms of exploitation in a variety of ways, from unwittingly laundering funds generated by these practices to investment in businesses that have labor trafficking embedded in their supply chains.

Seventy years ago, this week, the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic...

Publishing FCN 3

When I started Financial Crime News, I wanted to offer a digestible collection of both interesting and relevant materials to arm financial crime fighter’s with additional tools to help enable them to do their work. Read more…

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